Most websites don’t get visibility in AI searches. The problem is often not whether the content is well written, but that AI crawlers can’t get in at all, can’t clean it, and can’t recognize you. If the technical level is not passed, no matter how good the article is, it will be in vain. This list breaks down "Let AI understand your website" into 25 items that you can check yourself. It is divided into four levels. You can find most obvious gaps by running from the bottom to the top.
AEO (answer engine optimization) shares the same foundation as traditional SEO, but the AI engine has an additional level. It needs to first capture your page, cut the content into clean paragraphs, understand what each paragraph is talking about, and finally decide whether to quote you in the generated answer. If you get stuck at any level on this path, you will be invisible in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. The following 25 items are divided into four layers according to this path: crawling, structure, semantics, and trust, starting from the bottom layer.
Crawl layer: Can AI crawlers get in (items 1–6)
This layer is the easiest to ignore, but the most deadly. Many websites actually have good content, but they completely block AI crawlers in robots.txt or firewall settings without even knowing it.
- robots.txt Explicitly allow mainstream AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended), don't disallow them along with bad robots.
- Check the blocking rules of Cloudflare or WAF. Many of the default options for "Block AI crawlers" will easily block the engines you want to be referenced.
- The core content must appear in the HTML rendered on the server side; most AI crawlers do not execute JavaScript, and they cannot see the content rendered by the front end.
- Every important page returns a 200 status code, uncovering hidden 404s, soft 404s, and a series of redirects.
- sitemap.xml covers all pages that want to be included, lastmod should truly reflect the update time, don't fill it all in today.
- The content on the first screen is loaded in the initial response. Don’t let crawlers catch an empty shell page that is still spinning.
Common pitfalls in practice: The website is revised to a front-end framework, and the entire page is rendered by JavaScript on the browser side. Human users can see it smoothly, but crawlers that do not execute JS will capture an almost blank page. First click "View Source Code" in the browser to see if the main content is in the original HTML. This step can eliminate most of the problems.
Structural layer: Can content be extracted cleanly (items 7–13)
Instead of swallowing the entire page, the AI engine cuts it into chunks and quotes the passages that best answer the question. The clearer the structure, the higher the chance of being extracted.
- There is only one H1 on each page, and H2 and H3 have clear subordinate hierarchies. Don’t use large fonts to pretend to be titles, and don’t skip levels.
- Use more semantic tags (article, section, nav, title tags) and less stacking of full-page divs to allow machines to read the structure.
- Put the key answer in the first one or two sentences of the paragraph, and the AI will catch the key points at the first glance when extracting, without having to guess.
- Use real ul and ol for columns, and real table for comparison information. Don’t use screenshots or pure typesetting, as the words in the pictures cannot be extracted.
- The FAQ uses a question-and-answer paired structure, and the answer to each question is self-contained and can be quoted independently.
- Images are supplemented with descriptive alt, and videos are appended with verbatim transcripts or subtitles, so that non-text content can also enter the AI's field of vision.
- Reduce boilerplate noise: Repeated navigation, sidebar ads, and pop-up windows will dilute the signal density of the main content.
Semantic layer: Does the machine understand what you are saying (items 14–19)
After you can catch it and cut it cleanly, you still need to let the machine know "what this section is." Structured data and consistent physical signals help AI label your content.
- Deploy Schema.org structured data according to page types: Article for articles, FAQPage for Q&A, HowTo for teaching, and Organization for companies.
- Structured data is formatted in JSON-LD and passes complex search result testing and schema validators, so don’t let syntax errors silently invalidate it.
- The title and meta description of each page accurately correspond to the content, and it is best to directly match the questions that users will actually ask.
- The writing method of entities should be consistent throughout the site: use the same name for brands, products, and names both inside and outside the site (Wikipedia, LinkedIn), and do not use uppercase or lowercase letters.
- Internal links use descriptive anchor text to string related pages into topic clusters to help crawlers understand the relationship between each other.
- Only talk about one topic on one page. Don’t cram five search intentions into the same page, making it difficult for AI to classify and cite.
Trust layer: Would the AI dare to quote you (Items 20–25)
When AI cites a source, it is equivalent to endorsing it. It will tend to select pages with authors, sources, and clear entities. This layer determines whether you are "read" or "selected."
- Each piece of content is marked with the author, title and author page, and is marked with datePublished and dateModified using schema.
- Key figures and claims are linked to verifiable sources, giving AI a way to verify them before citing them.
- Use HTTPS throughout the site, have valid credentials, and clear mixed content warnings to avoid losing basic trust points.
- The name, address, and phone number (NAP) are completely consistent across the entire site and the Organization schema, strengthening the entity's credibility.
- Prepare llms.txt, or an about page that clearly explains "who you are, what you do, and why" to let AI quickly establish its understanding of you.
- Use ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews every month to measure brand-related issues and record whether they are cited and whether they are cited correctly.
After the audit: How to prioritize repairs
Don’t try to do 25 items at once. The order is from bottom to top: first make the capture layer all green, then process the structure and semantics, and finally fill in the trust signal. The capture layer is binary, either connected or blocked; the structure and semantic layer are progressive, and each change is better. This list is actually a DIY simplified version of the technical aspects of Tenten’s 30-day GEO audit. If you run it yourself, you can find about 70% of the obvious gaps.
After running, you may be stuck on a few things that you can't judge at the moment: whether the crawler is blocked, whether the schema is really effective, and whether the brand was quoted correctly during the actual test. If you want to clarify these fuzzy areas at once and get a prioritized repair list, you can make an appointment for a 30-minute GEO diagnosis. We will run a round with your actual URL and tell you directly which three items should be done first.
